St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-05-16
section, and, that your readers may Sc
just'what it is, / will copy it. 1t is a

section, and, that your readers may sc
justwh it is, will copy it. 1t is a
follows:
That it shall be unlawful for any commo,
carrier, subject TO the provisions of this act
to charge or receive any greater compensa
ton In the aggregate for the transportation
of passengers or of like kind of property,
under substantially similar circumstance,
and conditions, for Il shorter than for
longer distance, over the same line, in the
same direction, the shorter being included
within the longer distance; but this shall not
be construed rs authorizing any common
carrier within the terms of this act to charge
and receive rs great compensation for n
shorter as for n longer distance. Provided,
however, that upon application to the com
mission appointed under the provisions of
this act, such common carrier may, In special
cases, after investigation by the commissions,
be authorized TO charge less for shorter dis
tances for the transportation OF passengers
or property; and the commission may, from
time to time prescribe the extent TO which
such designated common carrier may be re
lieved from the operation OF this section Of
the net.
1t will trouble any fair-minded person
to discover anything unfair in that sec
tiOn-cOrrectly read and honestly i'll
terpreted. There is certainly nothing
unfair to the railroads. Congress and
the people have heretofore supposed
land they were righHthat railroads were
not carrying freight from competing
points at loss or without profit and for
mere amusement; and that if they could
carry freight from one competing point
to another at stated rate they should
carry it a less distance for at least the
same mot leSS) rate or price. They
believed that for the Chicago, Milwau-
kee IL ST. Paul, or any other railroad, to
carry freight from Chicago to st. Panl
for Is cents per 100 it was eXtortiOn and
unjust discrimination for it to charge
| towns leo or more miles nearer (Or a
shorter hauD 80 or So cents. They be-
lieved, and rightly, too, that the rate
established by q railroad company for
the long haul will be held by any court
and jury to be as high as the railroad
! company can go, in its charges; and
| that this interstate commerce law is
more liberal than the common law when
| it recognizes the right of the railroad
| company to charge as much for short
haul as for long. Under law the rail
roads could charge as much from Chi
cagO to Red Wing or Hastings or North
field or Faribault as they formerly did
to st; Paul, and all who are not inter
eSted in railroads or the perpetuatiOn of
the unjust system and practice of the
| past will say that this was more than
enough.
The whole trouble is that the rail-
| roads, in direct and Willful violation of
| the law, raised at the competing points
| (or rather they say they have instead of
lowering the outrageous and eXtortiOn-
ate rates heretofore charged at the in
termediate non-cOmpeting points of
| shorter distance. 1t cannot be said |
am drawing on my imagination for this
statement when we see the rates on flour
from ST. Paul and Minneapolis raised to
Is cents by all the other roads, and at
the same time the Burlington is carry
ing it for less than half, or ~ cents. In
your paper of about the 22d ult. was
dispatch from Red Wing, stating that
the millers of that city were hauling
their -four by team to Hager and ship
ping it to Chicago by the Burlington at
TX cents, which was Is cents less than
the railroads passing through Red Wing
needed to expose the villainous cOnSpir-
acy of the kicking" railroads? And
does any one suppose that the people
are ever going to yield to such iniquity
because it can find editorial defenders?
Whom the gods would destroy they
first make mad" and if these railroad
m0nopoliSts were not insane in their
desperation they would pause and pom
der over the following utteranceS and
admOnltlon of the commission in the
letter already quoted from:
wholly fail to justify railroad managers, who
refuse to accept responsibilities, decline to
offer rates, neglect to announce conditions
OF traffic. embarrasS the customary inter-
change OF business and impose stagnation
upon trade. 1t is still more unjuStifiable for
railroad companies to make use of the gen.
eral clauses of the law, ignoring its modify
ing ana eniarglng words and formulas in
order to impose additional burdens upon To-
callteS, trades, professions, manufacturers,
consumers, classes of travellers or employees,
stralning and REFRESHING every construction
In favor of the corporation treasury and
quoting the new law as their authority for
all manner OF petty eXactions. The powers
OF the commission are entirely adequate to
cope with such conduct, the existence of
which is not affirmed although it has been
somewhat publicly suggested.
1t was not possible for the Interstate
commission to have more explicitly con-
demned every act of the railroad com
panieS which has been committed by
them, with the false excuse that this
law compelled them to, without speci-
flying each case in detail. Yet, in the
face of all this, the organs of these ex-
tortioners declare that this law should
and will be repealed. But enough of
this feature of the law.
have confined myself strictly to the
legal view of the matter-to a cOnsidera-
ton of the rights of the people and the
obligations of the railroads as common
carriers under this law. The claims of
the interior towns to fair treatment l
have not discussed, and the limits
of this letter will not permit
it. 1t is enough to say
that these towns upon which your
Twin Cities must rely for their CONNER
cial prosperity, had right to expect
better treatment at the hands of your
people. 1t may be to the interest of
your real estate spectators to crush
out, or stop the growth of these towns,
but it is not sound policy for your
wholesale merchants and business men
to do SO. But l must end this letter,
and will do so by advising these railroad
companies and their friends not to lay
the i1attering junction to their souls Gf
they have any, that this law will be re-
pealed, or the long and short haul clause
made more liberal to them. In another
| may tell them what they may expect
if they continue. CITIZEN.